Printing-plate holder and registering clamp.



E. M. ERB. PRINTING PLATE HOLDER AND REGISTERING CLAMP. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2, 1911.

1 974,1 O8, Patented Sept. 30, 1913.

E. M. ERB. PRINTING PLATE HOLDER AND REGISTERING CLAMP. APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 2, 1911.

1 074; 108, Patented Sept. 30, 1913.

2 SHEETS -SHEET 2v Z out of the same.

Ep ET OFFICE.

EDMUND M. 13313.01 JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO I. WESEL MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORA- won or new Yomr.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application flied June 2, 1911.

atented Sept. 30,] 913.

Serial No. 630,843.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDMUND M. Elm, a citizen of the United States, residing at Jersey City, inthe county of Hudson and State of New J erscy, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Printing-- Plate Holders and Registering Clamps, of which the following is a specification."

My'invention relates to means for holding and registering stereotype, electroty'pe, and other printing plates, and particularly to that class of clamping devices employing a bed or base provided with a plurality of grooves in its upper surface, into which the plate-holding and registering hooks or clamps arelet down,-and lifted up bodily Such devices are often termed in 'the trade, register hooks.

One feature of my present invention is in ma king the clamping device a unitary structure having a body formed of two parts within which are located the actuating .parts, whereby said actuating parts are protected from dust and ink and cannot come into contact with the sides of the grooves. or

when the clamp is removed from the base or bed and also whereby the body parts of the device may be easily made and the actuating parts may be readily assembled therewith.

, Another feature of my invention is the means p'rovided for securing a swivel hook to the body of the clamp, whereby the pin or pins heretotoro employed for this purpose are dispensed with and a uniform bearing upon the neck of the hook is obtained.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is longitudinal section of the clamp device showing part of a printing plate held thereby, and also showing part of the bed of the printing press. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section at the line w, m, of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan at the line y, 3) of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the clamping devioe. Fig. 5 is an elevation of the clamp jaw or hook. Fig. 6 is an elevation of the inner side of one of the sections of the body por tion of the clamp. Fig. 7 is a plan of a portion of my improved bed with a printing plate secured to the same by the c amping devices. Fig. 8 is a section of a portion of the bed at the line a, z of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a section pf part of the bed' at the line 2, a, of Fig. 7. Fig. 10 is an elevation of the worm of the clamping device )rovided with a projection to receive a key wlien the worm is to be turned. Fig. 11 is a section of part of the bed and a. sectional elevation of a portion of the clamping device showing a modification in the means for holding the clamping device to the bed. Fig. 12 is an elevation of the clamping device and section of the bed as applied to the curved bed of a rotary printing press.

All the figures of the drawing except Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are in enlarged size.

Similar reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

1 indicates the bed or base which is provided in its upper surface with a plurality of grooves or channels 2 which are of any desired depth, width, arrangement and numher. In the bottom of each of these grooves there are equally spaced holes or cavities 3 which may extend entirely through the base or to only a predetermined depth, and these holes or cavities are preferably enlarged at the bottom or are counter-bored as at 4. The grooves 2 have preferably straight smooth side walls extending from the bottom of the grooves to the upper surface of the bed or base. The holes 3 in the bottom of the grooves are spaced according tot-he extent of movement which the body member has upon the rack bar.

My clamping and registering device comprises a body 5 formed of two companion parts 5" and 5"; a rack-bar (3; a gear wheel 7; a worm 8 and a plate engaging member, clamping jaw or hook 9, with an under bev eled cdgc or edges to come up against the beveled edge of the printing plate 21 and engage the same. The body 5 (as above stated) is composed of two companion right and left hand parts or sections correspondingly grooved and recessed on their meeting faces to form apertures for receiving an retaining the other'actuating parts within the body portion in their operative position when the two sections are brought together and secured and also for receiving and retaining the jaw or hook which may be swivelcd so as to swing about a vertically extending axis and also the rack or member 6 between which and said body portion there is a relative longitudinal movement. Both sections of the body portion 5 are cut away on their inner surfaces for a predetermined the worm may be turned, and will thus either force the under beveled jaw ti against the beveled edge of the printing plate 21 as shown in Fig. 12 or move the jaw in a from said plate as may be desired by t e op erator. 7

It will be readily seen that the clamping device may be inserted into a groove of the bed in either of two positions, that is, with the clamping jaw on the right or left hand, and by this means the jaw may when net-cs sary, be placed near the edge of the bed.

Instead of providing the lug or lug-i 20 on the bottom of the leg or legs ll) oi? the rack bar 6, the leg or legs 20, which are preferably round in cross section, may have a screw-threiul out upon their surface in which case the holes 3, in the bed are to be similarly screw-threaded or grooved, the holes being of larger diameter than the di' ameter of the legs so that the legs may be easily dropped into said holes, but upon moving the rack bar in either one direction or the other, the threads on the leg or legs. will mesh with the threads or projecting parts in that side of the hole to which the leg is moved and act to prevent the up ward movement of the clamping device. This modification is illustrated in Fig. 11. My invention is applicable also to a curved bed for a rotary press as shown in Fig. 12 in which case the upper surface of the body portion is shaped to conform to the curvature of the printing plate, and the clamping device may be held in the groove of the bed by one leg only, and in such case it is preferable that there be but one projection or foot 20 at the lower end. of the leg 19 and a spring 22 secured to the leg and bowed outward as shown in said Fig. 12. This spring will be compressed when the leg is inserted into the hole 53 until the log or foot 20 passes through that portion of said hole having the smallest diameter when the pressure upon the spring being relieved it will expand and acting against one side of the hole will force the lug 20 into the enlarged portion 4. of said hole and lock the leg to the bed in that position. it will be readily seen that the leg may be released by again compressing the spring until the foot is withdrawn from the enlarged opening 4. This may be done by manually manipulating the body portion of the clamp device or by any suitable tool.

The rack bar 6 may if desired, be ,provided with only one leg for use upon both a flat bed or a cylindrical bed, but there is preferably employed two legs on the rack when using the clamp upon a flat horizontal bed, and if desired the spring 22 may be employed on the leg or legs 19 imuse upon a flat horizontal bed. in cases where the sections of beds are made up in a large form, it will be apparent that the grooves on one bed will meet those on the next adjacent bed so that the clamping device may travel from one section to another.

In the beds for use upon rotary presses, it is'preferable that the upper surface of the enlarged here i be slightly inclined upwardly from the center as shown in Fig. 12 to prevent undue. strain or any binding action upon the lug 20 therein when the body portion oi" the clamping device is moved along the rack bar. It willv be observed that the body is split by a plane extending vertically and longitudinally of the hook, and the plane passes through the axis of the worm and swiveled jaw or plate engaging member and also that said plane passes below the portion which defines the side of the slot in which the rack is located. It will be apparent however that various forms and modifications may belnadg without departing from the spirit and scope of my invcntion and also that the invention may be embodied in-many other types of register hooks than that shown in the drawings.

I clainras my invention:

1. A clamp device for holding a printing plate to a grooved bed or foundation. comprising a body portion, av clamping jaw, a rack-bar along which said body portion is movable in opposite directions, a worm, u.

2 gear wheel moshing with both the worm and rack bar, said body portion consisting of two sections having correspomling grooves and recesses in their meeting surfaces which when the two sections are joii'iedtogether form apertures for containing and holding said rack bar, worm and gear wheel in their operative positions, and means for securing the two body sections together,

2. A clamping device for holding a printing plate to a grooved bed or. foundation, comprising a body formed of two parts, a swiveled clamping jaw having an annular recess in its neck, a recessed portion in each of said body portions which receive therebetween the neck of the clamping jaw, a seini-pirciilar rib on each body portion with in said body recessed portions, said semi: circulaiyribs fitting within the annular rcccsses in the neclc and together providing a continuous bearing for the recessed neck portion of said jaw whereby the latter is held within said aperture so "that it can re vol ve.

which 

